She said the adoption and skill development programmes in a central facility would be much easier and it would also help in checking "abuse and misuse" by NGOs who are running their own shelterhomes with grants from the government.

"I have been asking for a scheme where each state should have a single large facility to house all such girls and children which should be run by the state government," she said.

Other homes in the state should only provide temporary shelter to women, girls and children in distress situations and after clearance by the Child Welfare Committee, Gandhi said.

About 34 minor girls were allegedly sexually abused at the shelter home in Muzaffarpur, with medical reports confirming rape of them.

The second case of sexual assault against girls in Deora came to light yesterday when a 10-year-old girl managed to flee from the shelter home and informed them about the plight of the inmates, who were reportedly sexually abused by the couple running the shelter home, after which police conducted a raid and 24 girls were rescued.

The Uttar Pradesh government swung into a damage control mode by removing the district magistrate and ordering a high-level probe into the matter.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)